Ihduwiyayapi: Advancing Indigenous
Early Childhood Education
2021 – Ongoing
About The Program
The Ihduwiyayapi: Advancing Indigenous Early Childhood Education program partners with tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) to build the capacity of their early childhood education programs and improve teacher education through family and community outreach, enhanced child developmental pedagogy, pathways development, enhanced capacity, and engagement in national conversations about ECE best practices and lessons learned.
The program piloted in 2021 through $600,000 and $350,000 grants from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Heising-Simons Foundation, respectively. The Bezos Family Foundation has since committed a $5.3 million grant over four years of a broader $11.3 million program plan.
Ihduwiyayapi can be translated from Dakota to “they are getting ready.” Its meaning conveys that those involved in the programming are preparing themselves and their programs for what will come next, they are preparing a foundation for the advancement of Indigenous Early Childhood Education.
Grantees
2021-2022 Pilot Cohort
Blackfeet Community College
College of Menominee Nation
Diné College
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University
Little Priest Tribal College
Navajo Technical University
College of Menominee Nation
Northwest Indian College
Sitting Bull College
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute
Stone Child College
Related Blogs
American Indian College Fund Launches Virtual Learning Series to Tribal College Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Students
Two of the American Indian College Fund’s (College Fund) programs are collaborating to launch a new virtual learning series for early childhood educators as well as elementary and secondary educators in Indigenous communities.
